Andante Cantabile

Andante cantabile(It.) is a direction often used by composers. In general, it means flowing and songlike.

The andante tempo is known as the walking pace, and the pacing and energy should generally feel like a nice stroll.

Cantabile [kanˈtaːbile], an Italian word, means literally “singable” or “songlike”. In instrumental music, it is a particular style of playing designed to imitate the human voice.

To a large section of the public, however, it means one work, the 2nd movt., andante cantabile, of Tchaikovsky’s str. qt. No.1 in D (1871), Op.11.

And there is other existing beautiful andante cantabiles as well. Recorded 2004 by the duo Emmanuel Pahud & Eric Le Sage, of an arranged version of Violin Sonata Op. 18 in E flat (arr. for flute): II Improvisation (andante cantabile). Released May 15 2024, now available in Apple Music.

The musical term does have a richer intepretation––it’s not simply a tempo direction. I’m starting to adopt it as the pace of my life, at least for now. And it sounds much better than presto.